Murphy is slated to have imaging performed on his injured thumb Friday in order to determine whether he's ready to return to baseball activities, the team's official site reports.

EDGE Analysis

Murphy has been sidelined since mid-August with what initially was a thumb sprain. However, the veteran backstop subsequently suffered a small fracture in the thumb in early September while performing baseball activities, and he's been shut down altogether since Sept. 11. Friday's evaluation should give the Mariners a clearer picture of whether Murphy, who'd been a key contributor courtesy of a .290 average and .873 OPS across 158 plate appearances, will be able to jump into game action before the conclusion of the regular season.